Physicians

             (page 582) In giving a brief history of the medical profession in Cincinnati, with especial respect to its relation to the betterment of civic conditions, it is not possible to omit giving some small account of the life and work of Dr. Daniel Drake. He was one of the pioneers of the city; and did much to spread the news of the advantages afforded by Cincinnati among the other parts of the United States. He was born near Plainfield, New Jersey, October 20, 1785, and soon came to Kentucky with his parents. Deciding to take up the profession of medicine he came to Cincinnati to study under Dr. William Goforth. Here he commenced the practice of his profession in 1807, and early became one of the distinguished figures of the community. His book, Picture of Cincinnati, which he published in 1815, gives a large amount of valuable information about the early history of the city and the surrounding country. He was the founder of the Medical College of Ohio, and was identified with almost all public organizations and undertakings until the time of his death, which occurred in Cincinnati on November 6, 1852.

            In Dr. Drake's book appears an account of the diseases which prevailed in the region about Cincinnati, and the- existing causes for some of them. In general the same-diseases were found here as were known in the eastern states of about the same latitude, although it was thought that some of these diseases were not so violent here.

            Especially was this true of pulmonary consumption, a disease which caused nearly one-fourth of all the deaths in the east, but was accountable for only about one-twentieth of the deaths at Cincinnati, and the city was recommended as a place to which those in the early stages of the disease should come to regain their health. Pleurisy and peri-pneumonia were found to occur every winter, and calomel was recommended for its cure-in fact, calomel was looked upon rather in the light of a cure-all. Croup was a much feared children's disease, and was responsible for a large proportion of the deaths among children. It sometimes came in conjunction with cholera infantum, the most deadly of all child diseases, and when this combination occurred the disease was very dangerous. The usual galaxy of lesser ailments, such as colds, catarrhs, toothache, and headache, were, of course, found quite generally. "Of the diseases ascribed to the exhalations from putrefying animal and vegetable substances," wrote Dr. Drake, "from alluvial ground, and from ponds and marshes, we have perhaps the whole catalogue, with the (page 583) exception of the yellow fever of the eastern cities. In the country, especially along the water courses, remitting and intermitting fevers, including ague, prevail every autumn." Both the mild and the malignant types of "typhus fevers" were of common occurrence. People coming from other parts of the country to take up their residence in Cincinnati were advised to go to the higher parts of the city, or, if they desired to live in the country, to get upland farms, and to expose themselves as little as possible during the summer months to the heat of the sun and the evening air until they had become acclimated. The epidemic diseases prevalent throughout this part of the country at that time were measles, mumps, whooping cough, scarlet fever, smallpox, "putrid sore throat," and influenza. A considerable epidemic of the last named disease occurred in the United States in 1807, reaching this city in October and enduring for five weeks. Almost all adults of both sexes were attacked, but not many of the children. Few deaths resulted from the influenza, but the pneumonia resulting carried of many, and the death rate of consumption was increased for the next two years. Many other diseases common to mankind were found here at that date, but the more important have been mentioned above. No mortality list was kept in Cincinnati then, so it is impossible to tell which diseases were the most fatal, but cholera infantum, convulsions, and croup were the three that carried of the largest numbers of children, and typhoid fever and pneumonia claimed the larger share of the adult victims.

            In giving the known causes of some of the diseases, but little blame was laid upon the climate, it being stated that neither of the two temperature extremes caused disease by their direct operation, but that the variableness of the climate made some diseases difficult to combat. For instance, cholera infantum was well-nigh incurable during the summer when the thermometer registered between 76 and 96 degrees. Little stock was placed in the theory that dampness and fogs were responsible for such a large percentage of fevers as was popularly supposed, but it was believed that they acted indirectly insomuch as fogs and vapors were more prevalent where there was the largest amount of decaying vegetable and animal matter. The only direct ill effect of the heat was a general lassitude and lack of appetite, but this feeling disappeared with the first cool day in the fall.

            By many newcomers the water was blamed for many diseases, but this was unwarranted. It was true that, on account of the high mineral content of the drinking water, many easterners were at first made unwell by it, but they soon overcame this, and there were no grounds for believing the water to be bad for the health of the people. Swamps and ponds were the chief sources of disease, and with respect to this city there were two natural places of this sort and several of the town's own making. The natural sources were the beach on the opposite side of the river, and the marsh at the mouth of Mill creek, although the latter was so far removed from Cincinnati at that time that it could have had but little bad effect. During the latter part of the summer in every year, however, the low water of the river caused a long strip of beach across from the city to be (page 584) exposed to the rays of the sun, and the exhalations from the mud and filth exposed amounted to a nuisance. But the worst causes were found within the city itself and were the result of poor drainage and city sanitation. "For many -years the descent of gravel along the streets which run. from the upper to the lower table, has kept several of the intermediate lots in a state of partial inundation, and caused them to accumulate large quantities of filth." Another bad place in the city was the place where the bricks used in the city had been made for years. Here the pits which had been dug collected nearly all the refuse of the town through the gutter in Second street. These unsanitary conditions aroused the better citizens, and the new corporation was empowered to make provisions for remedying them.

            There were two distinct opinions as to the manner in which the city should be drained of its surface water. One, that each street leading to the river should be graded and guttered so as to carry its own water into the river, was objected to on the grounds of the great expense attached to. the undertaking. The other plan was to have all the water carried into the drainage ditch on Second street which would carry it of into the river. The northwest part of the bottom was from time to time inundated with water, so it was advocated that a levee should be erected along the western border of the town to prevent the high water from overflowing this section of the town plat and thus causing unsanitary mud holes and ponds. It was in arousing public sentiment against such nuisances as these were that the pioneer medical men were of particular value to the town, aside from their knowledge of their profession, and while that knowledge was slight in comparison with that of the present day practitioner, and their skill as lacking as their instruments were crude, they nevertheless realized that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," and their efforts were unflagging in the cause of the public sanitation and health. They gave the best that was in them, working under the most trying circumstances of travel, lack of drugs and instruments, and received most indifferent payment for their services.

            In the summer of 1818, the Medical College of Ohio was founded by Dr. Daniel Drake, Dr. Coleman Rogers, and Mr. Elijah Slack, as is described in the chapter devoted to the schools of Cincinnati, and their public lectures on medicine and the public health did much toward crystallizing public opinion in favor of improved sanitary conditions. In the following year, by an act of the general assembly, Cincinnati was incorporated into a city. The legislative power was vested in the city council, composed of a president, nine trustees, and a recorder, and among other rights they had the power to pass such ordinances as were necessary to insure the health, safety, and cleanliness of the town. It was also their duty to see that the "streets and commons of the city" were "kept open, in repair, and free from nuisances," and they could levy taxes on dogs and hogs kept within the city limits.

            Cincinnati numbered twenty-two physicians in 1819, and the list of their names as published in the directory of that year is as follows : John Selman, Daniel Drake, John Cranmer, Coleman (page 585) Rogers, Daniel Dyer, William Barnes, Oliver B. Baldwin, Thomas Morehead, Daniel Slayback, John A. Hallam, Josiah Whitman, Samuel Ramsay, Isaac Hough, Edward Y. Kemper, John Douglass, Ithiel Smead, John Woolley, Trueman Bishop, Ebenezer H. Pierson, Jonathan Easton, Charles V. Barbour, and Vincent C. Marshall. The names of many of these men appear often in the pages of Cincinnati’s early history, which was perhaps only natural, as the professional men in that day were about the only persons of any education, and with the doctor's standing in the community it was only logical that his place should have been an important one and that his influence was vital in the public and private life of the times. In 1819, there were two societies organized that showed the increasing interest in medical and sanitary affairs. One of these was the Cincinnati Medical society, and this claimed Elijah Slack for its president, O. B. Baldwin for vice-president, John Woolley for secretary, and William Barnes for treasurer. The first named man, although not a practitioner, was a man of great erudition in medical affairs and ranked prominently among the men of that profession in spite of his not holding a degree of doctor of medicine. The other organization was the Humane society, which was established for the purpose of rescuing drowning persons from the river. There were about 300 members in this society and it was equipped with what was at that time considered to be a complete apparatus for use in resuscitation, consisting of three large boats with four sets of drags for each boat, and three houses on the river bank in which the boats were kept. In addition to this there was a movable bed which could be warmed, and a bellows with several nozzles which were found to be of some value in restoring respiration. Among the officers of the society were the two most prominent men of the city, Jacob Burnet and Daniel Drake, who acted in the capacity of first and second vice-president respectively. In 1825, after a stormy career of four or five years, the Medical College of Ohio was reorganized, and four professors appointed as lecturers. They were Jedediah Cobb, M. D., professor of institutes and practice of medicine; Elijah Slack, A. M., president of the Cincinnati college, professor of chemistry and pharmacy ; John Morehead, M. D., professor of materia medica and medical obstetrics ; and Jesse Smith, M. D., professor of anatomy and surgery. These professors were also the medical and surgical attendants of the Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asylum of Ohio, which was instituted in 182.1 with an appropriation of $10,000 in depreciated paper. This appropriation was used in the construction of a four-story brick building on a four-acre lot furnished by the township of Cincinnati. This hospital contained eighteen wards for the sick, besides a large operating and clinical lecture room and cells in which the insane were confined. It was permitted for the doctors to take their pupils from the Medical college into the hospital, and it was the clinics held here that gave them the valuable training that they needed. The number of patients was around thirty at that time, most of whom were free patients, for the hospital was designed to accommodate and treat the sick boatmen of the Ohio river without charge, and also the boatmen of any other city which reciprocated (page 586) by free treatment to Cincinnati boatmen. All paupers of the city were also admitted to the hospital gratis, as were all the insane persons in Ohio, the latter being supported by the counties from which they came at an expense which was not permitted to exceed $2 a week, exclusive of the cost of the clothing. The funds for the support of the hospital proceeded from the taxes levied upon all auction sales in Cincinnati, one-half of which were contributed to the institution. It was governed by the trustees of the township, and a report was made annually to the legislature by the associate judges of Hamilton county, who were designated to visit and inspect the hospital.

            In 1825, there was still further evidence of the trend of the medical men toward organization and concerted effort in behalf of their profession, when the First District Medical Society of Ohio was formed. This society was made up of the physicians and surgeons residing in Hamilton and Clermont counties, and organized according to the provisions made by the state legislature. It is significant of the leading part Cincinnati took even at that early date in the affairs of the valley, that all the officers of the society, as first elected, were physicians living and practicing in the city, these being John Selman, president; Samuel Ramsay, vice-president; Jesse Smith, secretary, and Ebenezer H. Pierson, treasurer. The society immediately put into operation plans for the improvement of their profession in the district and for the discouragement and unmasking of the quacks who infested the locality. It was stated in the law that any person who attempted to practice medicine in the district and could not show that he was a member in good standing of the medical society, was liable to a fine, and was also prohibited from collecting any fee for his services, which were, more often than not, harmful to the person he was pretending to help. In order to increase the knowledge of medicine and surgery among the members of the society a medical library was immediately started to which the doctors could turn for reference and study, and for the purpose of transacting the business of the society semi-annual meetings were held.

             With the growth of Cincinnati, there came an increasing demand    for medical colleges and lecture courses. Such rapid strides were being made in the profession, that it was necessary for the physicians themselves to keep in constant communication with members of the profession in remote cities and colleges, and in order to maintain the position of the city in its high rank as an educational center in the west it became imperative that the young medical students y opportunity to attend lectures, clinics, and should be given every opportunity to attend lectures, clinics, and experiments. Perceiving that Cincinnati was taking the leading place in the valley in the practice of medicine, and offered better facilities than any other city in the region for instruction, both on account of its prominent physicians and on account of the hospitals there, the trustees of the Miami university established their medical department in this city. It went into operation in the fall of 1831, the lectures being given in the Hall of the Mechanics' institute and also in a new building on Race street. The professors appointed to positions in this department were Daniel Drake, dean of the faculty and professor of the institute and practice of medicine ; George (page 587) McClellan, professor of anatomy and physiology; John Eberle, professor of materia medica and botany; James M. Staughton, professor of surgery; John F. Henry, professor of obstetrics and the diseases of women and children; Thomas D. Mitchell, professor of chemistry and pharmacy, and Joseph N. McDowell, adjunct professor of anatomy and physiology.

            However, the term of this medical department lasted only during the winter months, and as there were a great many young men in Cincinnati during the summer who desired instruction in medical matters, some of the physicians of the city voluntarily decided to organize a school for medical students the object of which was the delivering of lectures on various subjects relevant to the profession. This school was styled the Academy of Medicine, and the lecturing physicians were James M. Staughton, institutes of surgery; Isaac Hough, operative surgery; Joseph N. McDowell, anatomy; Wolcott Richards, physiology; Landon C. Rives, institutes of medicine and medical jurisprudence ; Daniel Drake, practice of physic and materia medica; John F. Henry, obstetrics, and Thomas D. Mitchell, chemistry and pharmacy. Thus it was that throughout the entire year medical instruction equal in almost every respect to any that could be obtained in the United States was given at a very slight cost to any young man who was desirous of prosecuting the profession of medicine.

            The directory for 1831 gives the names of fifty-eight physicians residing in the city, but in the list of members of the First District Medical Society of Ohio there are but forty-seven names included. From this it appears that there were several so-called physicians living in Cincinnati who were not entitled to practice their profession under the law, being either quacks who were called physicians from habit or physicians who had abandoned the practice and taken up other means of livelihood. In that year also appeared the first mortality table, and it appears there that the total number of deaths in Cincinnati from all causes from May 1, 1830, to April 30, 1831, was 820, and as the population of the city was 28,000 in that year, the death rate was one in thirty-four. The infant mortality rate was high, more than one-third of all the deaths recorded being infants or children under two years of age. The highest number of deaths were recorded for the months of July, August and September, August heading the list with ninety-eight deaths. In order to prevent as far as possible the spread of diseases, a contagious disease hospital was erected at the extreme edge of the town near Mill creek, and the danger from epidemics was greatly diminished thereby.

            In the meantime, the progress that had been made in the way of city sanitation was creditable to the efforts of the corporation officers, who were, of course, stimulated in their actions by the medical men of the city. Liberal appropriations were made for the paving of streets, filling in of low places, and draining off of stagnant ponds. Proper grading of streets was accomplished so that drainage and building were greatly improved.

            The question of the city water supply is always an important one to be considered in regard to the preservation of the public (page 588) health. In the early days of the city the water used was taken either directly from the Ohio river or from wells and springs throughout the city, but in 1817 the city council gave Samuel W. Davies the rights of supplying the city with water for a period of ninety-nine years. In 1819 he commenced operations by erecting a building on the bank of the river above Deer creek. In the rock under this three-story building was cut a well, which connected with the river through a canal cut to such a depth as to insure a supply of water even when the water was at its lowest stage. Water from this well was pumped by a forty-horsepower steam engine to reservoirs on the hill 158 feet above low-water mark. From these reservoirs the water was conducted by means of some wooden and a few iron pipes to the various parts of the town. By 1826 fourteen miles of pipe had been laid and the price of the water varied with the amount used, the lowest price at any hydrant being $8 per year. Between five and six hundred families were being supplied with water and several manufacturing establishments as well. In the same year, Col. Davies, discovering that the undertaking of supplying the water to the citizens was a task beyond his means, offered the water works for sale to the city, but the offer was declined, the plant becoming the property of a corporation with a capital of $75,000. With this corporation in charge of the water supply of the city, an adequate amount could be furnished to the different parts of the town, additional piping being installed wherever it was needed. Wooden pipes were used to conduct the water through the principal streets of the city, twenty-two miles of such pipe having been laid up to 1836.

            The progress made in the medical profession was reflected in the medical schools at Cincinnati. Especially was this true of the Medical College of Ohio, which received excellent encouragement and some financial assistance from the state. It occupied a building well adapted to its needs, fitted up with lecture and experiment rooms, as well as private rooms for the professors. The library, which had been purchased with money furnished by the state, contained over 2.000 volumes in 1851, and in that year it was stated that the department of comparative anatomy was better supplied with specimens that any other medical college in the United States. The students, of which there were in that year 186, had the privilege of studying the cases in the Commercial hospital, and at that time these numbered about 3,000 annually. This was an advantage not excelled in any other college of the country, and the popularity of the institution was ever on the increase.

            In 1851 the city council, composed of three members from each ward in the city, were empowered to appoint street commissioners, health officers, and to establish a board of health. They were also authorized to abate nuisances, to appropriate ground for new streets or alleys, to open, straighten, widen or repair streets, and, in short, to make provisions for the correct sanitation of the city. However, the necessity of a board of health was not apparently realized until much later, because the first board of health was appointed in 1867. On April 19th of that year, agreeably to an act of the general assembly passed three weeks before, Hugh McBirney, S. S. Davis, L. C. (page 589) Hopkins, J. C. Baum, Daniel Morton and John Hauck were appointed by the city council as the first board of health of Cincinnati. The mayor was president of the board, ex offcio. The first meeting was held on April 22, and their first act was to establish by lot their respective tenure of office according to the act. The result was that L. C. Hopkins was established in office for one year, McBirney and Davis for two years, and Morton and Baum for three years each. The board then elected Dr. William Clendenin, health offer, and Mr. George M. Howels, clerk, and adopted a set of rules and regulations for the government of the board and of the officers elected by it. The first annual report was made on March 1, 1868, although only about ten months had elapsed since the appointment of the board. During the year, there were 13,624 orders issued and. served by the sanitary police, and there were 17,314 nuisances reported to the health office, all but 180 of which were reported by the sanitary police.

            The excellent work done by the board of health in connection with the sanitary work of the city cannot be taken up in detail, but a slight mention of some of the more important features of its work will give an idea of how necessary and how beneficial the first board was. There were many courts, lanes, yards, and alleys in the city, into which garbage, ashes and rubbish were being thrown. To this foul practice a stop was immediately put, and a careful inspection of such places kept up. Numerous arrests were also made of people who did not keep their garbage and ashes in separate containers, as was the plan of the street cleaning department. A number of bone boiling, tanking, and fertilizer plants within the city limits were closed up on account of the odors which disseminated from them. An inspection of the cellars of the city revealed the fact that a surprising number of them were used for depositories of filth and also for the housing of animals such as calves, geese, chickens and the like, and as it was known that damp and filthy cellars were one of the most important causes of disease the department did everything in its power to abate the evil. There were nearly 700 cows kept in the city at the time, and under such horrible conditions of lighting, ventilation, and filth, that a great number of them were found to be sick. They were kept tied in their stalls almost continuously and fed upon slops exclusively. To correct this evil, which had undoubtedly been the cause of much of the child mortality in the city, the department compelled the owners of the cows to turn them out of their stables daily, and to keep the stables in a much better condition. A system of registering the dealers in milk was adopted, so that any person could find out under just what conditions of sanitation the milk which he purchased was produced. The total number registered was 210, and in only sixty-one of these dairies was dry feed used exclusively. Seventy-one dairies made it a practice to feed "still slops" exclusively, and twenty-five of this number had no pasturage for their cattle. Thus it may be seen in what a deplorable condition the milk was produced in general, and the department did much by its system of registering to create publicity in regard to the dairies, which reacted favorably upon the dairymen. The offal from the slaughter houses had been for many years thrown (page 590) into the open sewers in the city, and if it happened that there was insufficient water in the sewer to wash it into the river, it remained there to decompose and create an intolerable nuisance. Through the efforts of the board of health, blood pits, water tight floors, and proper drainage were provided in the slaughter houses, and the offal was carried beyond the city limits by the city contractor.

            There were at that time 1,410 tenement houses in the city, each containing over six families. The total number of rooms in these houses was 16,197, and were occupied by 9,894 families, or a total population of 38,721. Of this number of families, 4,218 (containing a population of 15,604) had but one room to a family, in which they lived, cooked, ate, and slept, and 3,571 of these rooms had but one window. The remaining families had two rooms each. Most of these tenement houses had but one stairway and varied from two to six stories in height. People crowded together in such a manner were subject to every disease, and there was great danger of a pestilence breaking out over the entire city, not to mention the great loss of life that would have inevitably resulted had a fire broken out in these tenement districts. The board of health was, however, not empowered to regulate these conditions, but the figures were presented to the general public in the hope that legislation would be enacted to correct them.

            A very large proportion of the numerous "water lots" that lay within the city received the attention of the board during the first year of its administration. These lots were generally below the level of the street, and therefore received all the surface water of the neighborhood, and also a large amount of garbage, refuse, and even dead animals. Many of these lots were drained of and filled up to the surrounding level, and the others were soon after removed in the same way.

             In creating the board of health the power of providing medical relief to the poor of the city was transferred from the infirmary board, where it originally resided, to the board of health. The expenses of this department of the board were higher than in other years on account of the large number of people thrown out of employment by the great business depression which followed the Civil war and was being felt the most at about this time. The board at first appointed a physician for each ward, whose duty it was to visit the sick poor and prescribe for all who could not afford to pay for the services of a physician, but it was soon discovered that so large a number of physicians was unnecessary, and it was therefore reduced to thirteen for the entire city. The total number of sick poor who were treated in this manner throughout the year was 4,431, with an average of five visits to each patient. In accordance with the act authorizing the city council to appoint inspectors for meat, cattle, fish, milk, poultry, and the like, John Jockers, and an assistant to him were appointed to act under the rules of the board of health, and during the year these inspectors condemned a total of 2,188 head of all kinds of live stock, 29,480 pounds of meat, and a quantity of fish, dressed poultry, and various kinds of game. Nearly all the live animals condemned were redeemed by their owners on the condition that they would not again (page 591) offer them for sale in the markets of the city. But the quantity of work devolving upon these two inspectors was more than they could creditably perform, and the board found it necessary to appoint an additional meat inspector, and a milk inspector.

            A monthly record of deaths was kept, with the causes of death and ages of the dead. The total number of deaths for the year was 3,622, of which number 1,081 were children under one year of age, or 28 1-3 per cent of the whole number. This great mortality among children occurred largely among the poor of the city, and in concluding its report the board made several recommendations for improvements in the construction and ventilation of houses, and the lighting of the same, especially with respect to the sleeping apartments, which were said to be particularly deficient in these items. Recommendations were also made that the narrowness of the streets be corrected, and that any person erecting a new building should be compelled to make direct connections with the sewers of the city. It was discovered that the drainage water from a part of the city which included one-twentieth of the inhabitants entered the river at a point above the intake for the water works, and it was the opinion of the board of health that this was one of the greatest causes of mortality in the city. The improvement of the Mill creek bottom was also advocated as it was here that nearly all the sewage of the town collected, making the entire city more liable to disease. The final recommendation of the board was for the city council to create a city park of at least 500 acres, describing it as an important sanitary measure.

            The total expenditures of this first board of health were $21,482.10, of which amount $6,188.52 was the expense of the board of health proper, many of the items belonging more properly to the street cleaning department, the inspection department, and the like. In 1869, appeared the second annual report of the superintendent of streets, and the work which was done by this department was truly gratifying. The expenses of the department reached $139,971.47 for the year, a large amount of which was expended to keep the public landing in condition for the receipt and discharge of freight. There were removed from the city during the year a total of 166,788 loads of ashes, garbage and dirt, and the difficulties under which the department labored are partially told in the following taken from the report of the superintendent, Mr. A. M. Robinson:

            "The ordinance governing this department requires the removal of ashes and house offal, whether consisting of animal or vegetable substances, from all dwellings, stores, workshops, etc., at stated times, which can be accomplished with the present force, and with the levy now collected, were it not for a manifest disposition of a very large portion of the citizens to impose a much heavier burthen upon us, by requiring us to remove cellar cleanings, yard dirt, and filth of all kinds, from their premises. The addition to the labor amounts to almost one-half by this pl,-n, for which we receive no credit, and for which there is no provision made." "Mr. Thompson, the contractor for the removal of garbage, dead animals, etc., beyond the corporate limits, has promptly and (page 592) faithfully performed the duties required by the contract, and given entire satisfaction."

            The annual report of the superintendent and medical staff of the Commercial Hospital for the year ending March 1, 1868, was a most comprehensive one, and showed in detail the splendid work being done by the institution. In presenting his report, the superintendent said that he had been laboring under disadvantages inasmuch as three distinct hospitals were conducted under the one name. These were separated from each other by a distance of from one to three miles, and for this reason the number of departments and the expenses were increased. The three hospitals conducted and their locations were : the Male Department, corner Third and Plum streets ; the Female Department on Elm street above Twelfth, and the hospital for contagious diseases on Roh's Hill. Even with these three hospitals, there was insufficient room, and during the year many applicants for admission were turned away for this reason. However, this unfortunate condition of affairs was soon remedied by the erection of a new hospital. The total expenditures in behalf of the Commercial Hospital for the year amounted to $68,863.80, and there was an amount of $15,000 owing to the Ohio Valley Bank. The medical staff of the hospital consisted of four physicians, four surgeons, two obstetricians, two oculists, two pathologists, one physician to the pest house, one principal house physician, and four assistant house physicians. Dr. James T. Whittaker, the principal house physician, made an exhaustive report for the medical staff, too detailed to be here recorded, but worthy of brief recapitulation. There were during the year 2,094 patients admitted to the hospital, and of this number 122 died, and seven were received in Articulo Mortis. Of the number of patients treated (2,086) 115 died, making a mortality rate of 5.51 per cent. Unflagging zeal and conscientious effort characterized the service of the medical staff and the hospital board, and the record which they have left behind is their own monument.

            This, then, had been the progress of sanitation and the cause of medical science up to the year 1868. But far-reaching as were the results of the labors of the early physicians and sanitation experts, it now appears, by comparison with later efforts, that they were merely laying the foundation for a great system of medical inspection and supervision by which the health of the inhabitants, the welfare of the factory worker, the care of the poor, proper building laws, and pure foods are now guaranteed to the citizens of Cincinnati. What giant strides have been made in these respects since the Civil war, what a revolution has occurred in almost every branch of medical science, and to what an extent the city is indebted to the medical profession, comes more fully to light in a perusal of late reports of the board of health, but these are only figures and do not show the personal service element which enters so largely into the successful conduct of hospital and sanitary affairs. They do not show the numberless days and nights when the physicians and surgeons of the city have worked with tireless devotion and self-sacrificing adherence to their cause, and to the advancement of their profession.  

            (page 593) The last report of the department of health of Cincinnati was a triennial summary for the years 1916-17-18. A larger portion of the publication is devoted to the report of the division of medical inspection and relief than is devoted to any other divisional report The first subject taken up in this section of the report was the subject of communicable diseases, such as infantile paralysis, of which there was an epidemic in the summer of 1916, typhoid fever, diphtheria, scarlet fever, whooping cough, measles, tuberculosis, smallpox and influenza. These diseases were reported upon with respect to the number of cases occurring in each year of the report, the number of deaths resulting, and other interesting data concerning the same. Much work was done by this division of the department of health in the prevention of blindness, especially in the case of the new born, and during the three years embraced in the report, the district physicians took care of 15,843 cases requiring medical treatment, making 35,049 visits to the homes of the patients, and receiving 16,248 office consultations. Much time was devoted by the department to child hygiene, nine infant welfare centers providing milk for the poor through the Taft endowment, and thousands of visits to homes being made by nurses in social service activities. During the summer of 1918, children of pre-school age were examined by district physicians working in conjunction with the Council of National Defense, and defects found were pointed out and the parents instructed concerning their correction.

            A baby week and better babies contest was held in 1916, and did much to increase interest of parents in the care and proper handling of children. An enormous amount of work was done in connection with the promotion of health of the children in the public schools, the health department co-operating with the board of education. There was a medical bureau in 118 public and parochial schools, supplemented with nursing service in fifty-one public and twenty-four parochial schools. Sanitary inspectors visited all the schools in the city in every year and reported upon the sanitary conditions of the buildings. Vaccination of all school children is now compulsory, and over 95 per cent of the children in the elementary grades are vaccinated by physicians from the department of health. It is a rule that any child attending school who is absent for four consecutive days is to be visited by a physician, and in this manner many cases of communicable diseases are discovered and excluded from the schools. In addition to this work, the doctors make routine inspection of the children in the three lower grades and all new pupils in the upper grades for the purpose of detecting any physical defects. Each year there are some twenty thousand pupils who are found to need treatment of one kind or another. It was discovered recently that there is an annual loss to the community of about $275,000 due to the retardation of pupils, and the medical investigation of the home conditions under which these children lived led to the conclusion that the principal reasons for a lack of progress on the part of these children are poverty, crowding in the home, lack of opportunity for study, frequent changes of residence and the fact that many mothers are compelled to work outside of their homes.

            (page 594) Excellent work is done in the schools in connection with the conservation of vision. Five open air schools for anemic children are located in the city, and the oral hygiene committee of the Cincinnati Dental society does splendid work in the operation of school dental clinics.

            But these are only a few of the things done by the health department. The work of the division of sanitary inspection is of the most important kind, and the systematic and efficient work done by this division is reflected in the statement that in 1918 there were         a total of 135,251 inspections made. Through co-operation with the city engineer many sewers have been installed, and innumerable insanitary conditions have been remedied. In order to correct the evils of tenement life, a great amount of work has been undertaken in the education of the tenants in the correct methods of living. The division of laboratories made 19,316 investigations and examinations in 1918. The principal work of the division was in making examinations of diphtheria swabs, applying the agglutination reaction in the diagnosis of typhoid and para-typhoid B infections, making sputum and miscellaneous examinations. The chemical laboratory of the division made examinations of milk samples, food, and other articles, and bacteriological counts were kept of samples of milk sold by the city dealers.

            The division of food and drug inspection is doing splendid and extensive work in the inspection of the milk supply, milk bottles, and in the inspection of meat, with especial consideration for the emergency slaughter which occurs on Sunday and legal holidays and consists of the slaughtering of animals which require and receive the strictest veterinary inspection. Horse meat as a food was also recommended by the division in its report, on the grounds of its cleanliness and wholesomeness. A careful inspection was conducted of all restaurants, stores handling food products, soda water manufactories, ice cream manufactories, and candy manufactories, as well as food peddlers and public markets.

            That progress in city sanitation and public health matters has not ceased is shown in the sanitary bulletin issued by the department of health in 1919, in which it is advocated that the number of inspectors in the division of sanitation, food and drugs should be increased, and if Cincinnati is really to continue in its place in the front rank of American cities it is pointed out that it is imperative that two new divisions be created-one of public health education, and the other of industrial hygiene and occupational diseases. The plan which would be employed by the division of public health education would present to the general public, through the medium of motion pictures, exhibits, campaigns, lectures, and every other legitimate means, certain facts and statistics relative to the public health.

            The total expenditures of the department of health for the year 1918 were $106,259.49, divided generally as follows : General administration, $10,801.68; sanitary inspection, $16, 860.76; medical inspection, $44,646.25; food inspection, $22,867.22; laboratory, $5,220.08; tuberculosis dispensary, $1,575.33;  vital statistics, $2,577.68, and bonds and trust funds, $1,730.49.

            (page 595) This resume, brief though it be, epitomizes the progress of the medical profession during the course of a century, and the inestimable value of the profession to the community in promoting sanitary conditions and right methods of living.

 

Schools

 

            From the earliest days of the city, Cincinnati has been a leader in educational matters among the cities of the United States. The culture of the inhabitants, and their love of the arts and letters, as well as for the more practical side of education, early caused the city to be remarked upon even by the large eastern cities, who looked upon Ohio as the outermost frontier of civilization. Generous provision was made for the support of the schools of the state by the National Government, which granted one thirty-sixth of the lands of the state for this purpose, as well as two or three townships set aside for college use. The practice followed in most parts of the state for assigning the land to be used for schools, was to set aside the 16th section in each township, one of the four central ones as originally surveyed. This plan was followed out in the Miami valley. In each township, by order of the government, three trustees and a treasurer were elected to exercise corporate powers over the school section.

            The duties of these trustees was to rent the land in their charge out to farmers for periods of fifteen years, the rent money derived from the land being divided among the schools in the township according to the number of pupils. This plan may have worked out to the advantage of the cause of education in other sections of the state, but certain it was that it was a complete failure so far as Cincinnati was concerned, for the, reason that this township was fractional and contained no section 16. This, of course, militated against schools in the early days of the city's development, for there was not even a site for a school house set aside by the original proprietors, and it was, therefore, necessary to conduct the schools on the tuition basis. Until the year 1811, there were no definitely located schools in the city, transient teachers who presided over their schools .n rented 10 oii s being the only emissaries of education. In that year, however, it was realized that a more definite system for the education of the children must be instituted, and one that would have the virtue of permanence at least. Accordingly, ten or twelve persons, more interested in the project than others, built a couple of school houses, small log affairs, on a lot which they purchased. Two or three teachers were employed in these schools, but for financial reasons they did not flourish, and soon passed out of existence.

            In the year 1812, an Englishman by the name of Joseph Lancaster instituted a plan for conducting a school which bid fair to put it on a sound financial footing. A teacher residing in the east wrote to a minister, Joshua L. Wilson, on the subject, and he became its champion in Cincinnati, but without success. In 1814, however, Edmund Harrison, a native of Tennessee, who had been instructed by a pupil of Lancaster, came to Cincinnati looking for public-spirited citizens to undertake a school on this plan. He was a (page 596) member of the Methodist church, and that body, after hearing the plan, agreed to attempt the undertaking. The minister of the congregation drew up a set of rules and regulations which were to govern the organization, but owing to a provision that a majority of the trustees must at all times be members of his church, and also because there was no provision made for the branches of higher education, many persons were unfavorable to the project. An amendment was proposed, but failed of passage, and a rival institution was formed which went by the name of the Cincinnati Lancaster-Seminary. But two schools were more than the city needed at that early date, and so finally, soon after the beginning of the term, through the mediation of the teachers, the two schools were combined, and later incorporated under the law, with the usual regulations made. Great enthusiasm was shown by the citizens of the town in behalf of this school as is shown by their subscribing nearly $9,000 in 1814 in $25 shares. In the following year $3,000 additional were subscribed, and the banks of the town agreed to furnish as much more money as would be needed for the erection of a suitable building. A site for the school was donated by the Presbyterian church, a lease of ninety-nine years being given on the property, the only consideration being that twenty-eight poor children, chosen by the church board for that purpose, were to be educated free of charge. The charter of the school provided for a junior and a Senior department, both subdivided into male and female branches. The junior department was formed on the Lancaster plan, but the Senior department was of a higher type. The receipts from tuition in the lower department were used to meet the expenses of that branch, and any balance remaining was used for the purchase of proper instruments and educational equipment for the Senior department, and the tuition in the lower department was $8 a year. The lowness of this tuition enabled almost all people to send their children to the institution without making them objects of charity. The school was governed by seven directors, elected by the stockholders. A president was elected from these seven directors by themselves, and they had exclusive control of all school matters, both financial and educational. Jacob Burnet was the first president of the school, and did much toward putting it on a sane and firm foundation by his broad-minded and far seeing policies. The school was opened on April 17,1815, and immediately it was filled by 420 pupils. So many applications for admission were made that another school was planned for girls alone on the same plan.

            A school which had a brief and stormy career was incorporated in 1807 under the high sounding title of the Cincinnati university. Its finances were in such dubious condition that the stockholders made application to the legislature to hold a lottery, the proceeds of which were to be a sinking fund for the institution. The petition was granted and the tickets sold, but they were never drawn out, and the money thus gained was fraudulently kept.  However, an end came to the school in 1809 when the building it occupied was blown down in a storm.

            In the same year, the legislature of the state passed a law creating the Miami university. The governor appointed three (page 597) commissioners to fix on a site for the institution, and after due deliberation Lebanon was chosen. However,, much to the disgust of the citizens of Cincinnati, the next legislature changed the decision of the commissioners, decreeing that the university should be located west of the Great Miami, and beyond the Symme's purchase, on the land with which it was endowed. It was ordered that a town should be laid out, which was given the name of Oxford, and as much of the township lands to be leased as was necessary for the support of the school. However, those in charge of granting the leases did so on such low terms that in a very short time much of the endowment was leased out at such rates as to not furnish sufficient money for the support of a grammar school. To make matters worse, the succeeding legislature passed a law which decreed that any person becoming a settler on this land before 1816 would be exempted from the payment of a large part of the rent. The school came to-such a pass financially that it became necessary for the trustees to send out a mendicant, John W. Browne, to solicit funds for the school, but after two years of traveling through the east be returned with only $400. In 1814, the trustees gave contracts for brick and other building materials to be used in the erection of a suitable school building, but when it was learned that the treasury was almost empty the project was for the time dropped. In view of the unsatisfactory way in which the affairs of the school had been conducted there were many men in Cincinnati who advocated the return of the seminary to Cincinnati, where it would be promptly furnished with sufficient money for its proper support, and where there was a large enough population to give it the growth and prestige it was originally designed to have.

            With the rapid growth of the city, an increasing interest was taken in the educational facilities of the town. In 1819, it was stated that every neighborhood had its school, and which, in most instances, was in session for the entire year. The unfortunate feature of the schools was that, on account of no provision having ever been made for their support by the law, it was necessary for them to derive their funds from private individuals. This was a satisfactory arrangement so far as the financial problems went, but it deprived a number of poor children the privileges of education.  The Cincinnati Lancaster seminary continued to prosper, and in this year the name was changed to the Cincinnati college when it was incorporated a college by the general assembly. Dr. Elijah Slack was elected president of the institution by the twenty directors chosen from the stockholders. Some changes were made in the plan of conducting the school. There were two sessions in the school year. known as the winter and the summer session, with a vacation of about one month during October between the sessions. The preparatory requirements were Latin and Greek and arithmetic through the rule of three. A comprehensive curriculum was embraced in the four years of the college course, the studies of the senior class alone being natural philosophy, astronomy, belles-lettres, moral philosophy, logic, chemistry, composition, speaking, and the languages. The college equipment was sufficient to enable the students to perform all the general experiments, and to aid them in (page 598)their studies and research, the Cincinnati library, which then contained more than 2,000 volumes, was placed in the college, as was also the Western museum. This latter institution was organized for the purpose of collecting all the interesting productions and antiquities of the western country, and had at that time a fund of over $4,000. That the cause of education found excellent support in the city was shown by the fact that the funds of the Cincinnati college exceeded $50,000 in 1819.

             In 1818, Dr. Daniel Drake, perhaps the most distinguished figure in the life of the city at that time, and author of "Pictures of Cincinnati," together with Dr. Coleman Rogers and Elijah Slack, the principal of the Lancaster seminary and later president of the Cincinnati college, decided to give three courses of lectures in the study of medicine in the autumn of that year. They notified all the students of medicine in the surrounding territory of their project, and a most successful result came of it. Accordingly, Dr. Drake visited the legislature, and at his request a law was passed incorporating a medical college under the name of the Medical College of Ohio. Owing to a lack of ready funds, a regular course of lectures was not commenced at the college until 1820. These continued throughout 1821 and 1822, but at that time the legislature transferred the corporate powers from the faculty, where they originally reposed, to a board of thirteen directors. The lack of harmony which sprung up between these directors and the faculty, and also a lack of money, caused the school to suspend its course, and for one season no lectures were given. In the summer of 1824 a reorganization was effected with the result that a term of lectures lasting for fifteen weeks through the winter months was inaugurated. The trustees and medical faculty were jointly in control, the former being employed also in the Commercial hospital and in the Insane Asylum of Ohio. Clinics were held by the professors in the hospitals, which was authorized by law, and the instructor in chemistry gave his lectures in the Cincinnati college. The great difficulty with the plan of conducting the school was that all the lectures given had to be given at the expense of the professors who in turn received their remuneration from the tuitions. This necessarily made the cost of the term of lectures above what it should have been to further the interests of the college, and it was hoped that the state legislature would make an appropriation for the benefit of the college. Dr. Smith constructed at his own expense a commodious brick building to be used in all lectures except chemistry, and a degree of permanence was given to the college. The hospital at that time contained about thirty patients, and the clinical lectures held there for the benefit of the students were of the greatest aid in their education.

             In the mean time the Cincinnati college continued to be patronized, and exclusive of the Lancaster department, which annually had about 400 pupils, sixty students attended the college department. Three professors and one tutor were regularly employed in this upper branch, and their expenses were met by the tuitions. An excellent equipment, for those days, had been collected for the purpose of experiment, and it was stated in 1825 that the professors (page 599) performed over 5,000 experiments in a year in the various branches of science. In connection with the college there was a flourishing grammar school conducted under the supervision of the president, and here pupils were especially prepared for a course in the college. In 1822, the Cincinnati Female academy was organized and met with instant success.  At the first annual examination, in 1823, gold and silver medals were awarded, and the interest that this added caused the presentation of medals to become an annual affair. Seven instructors and instructresses were employed by the school, two of whom were in the preparatory department of the academy. The studies prosecuted by the pupils were French, music, needle work, and penmanship. A board of eleven visitors was appointed whose duties were to examine the pupils and make suggestions in the interest of the academy. Prominent on the first board of visitors were Jacob Burnet and the Rev. Bishop Chase, an uncle of Salmon P. Chase. The sciences taught in the lecture room were chemistry, philosophy, and astronomy for which there was suitable equipment, and during the summer practical courses in botany were given in the gardens of Mr. Nicholas Longworth, which were eminently adapted for such purposes.

            Gradually, as the attention of more of the citizens of Cincinnati became directed toward the welfare of the various educational institutions of the city, a well developed system of common schools came into existence. The first definite information available as to the number of teachers employed in the common schools, as well as the number and location of the schools themselves, appeared in the directory of 1831. All these common schools were free of charge to the children of the city, giving equal opportunities to the rich and poor alike, and a board of visitors elected by the people, one for each ward, kept watch of the interests of the schools and reported their findings. In that year, the number of teachers employed in the lower schools was twenty-seven, and the expense their services brought to the city was $6,610 for the year. Twenty-seven hundred children attended the schools of which there were eighteen in all, distributed in the various wards of the city as follows : First ward, three schools and five teachers ; Second ward, four schools and six teachers ; Third ward, three schools and five teachers ; Fourth ward, four schools and five teachers, and the Fifth ward, with four schools and six teachers. The five visitors were empowered to elect a board of six examiners, whose duty it was to examine the teachers and decide upon their fitness to be employed in the city's schools. There were a great number of private schools kept in the city, the most important of which were the Cincinnati English and Classical academy, Kinmont's academy, J. F. Finley's Classical school, several private grammar schools and several seminaries for girls, among which were the Cincinnati Female academy, "in which all the branches of a polite female education" were taught; the Cincinnati Female institution, A. Truesdale's Female academy, Mrs. Ryland's Female school, an infant school, the Logierian Musical seminary, and Mr. Nash's Musical academy.

            A considerable increase in the number of collegiate institutions is to be noted at this time. A vast improvement in the condition of (page 600) the Medical College of Ohio was made, a building, two stories high and fifty-four by thirty-six feet, being erected on Sixth street between Vine and Race. An excellent medical library was attached to the school, and to procure suitable apparatus for experimental work. Dr. Cobb was sent to Paris to buy the necessary equipment. Nine trustees with Jacob Burnet as president controlled the affairs of the college, and a faculty of six professors was employed. The sessions were held during the winter months, and a tuition of $62 was charged to defray the expenses of the school.

            In 1828, the Mechanic's institute was incorporated for the purpose of giving lectures gratis to the laborers of the city, on such subjects as the practical nature of their work demanded and which would help them better their conditions of living. It was well endowed from the beginning of its existence, and in 1830 the donation by Jeptha D. Garrard of a city lot valued at $2,000 made it possible for the school to purchase such experimental apparatus as was needed in the lecture courses. An increasing library of choice books and a reading room was attached to the school, and for the purpose of constructing a building more suited to the needs of such an institution the Enon Baptist church was purchased and rebuilt into a Doric hall.

            The Cincinnati lyceum was founded in October, 1830, and incorporated for the purpose of founding a public library, to raise funds for which various educational lectures were given by the members in the hall of the institute.

            The Western Academic Institute and Board of Education was organized for the purpose of gaining the co-operation of the parents, and to promote harmony between the teachers and ambition and application among the students.

            The Presbyterian church organized a theological institution under the name of Lane seminary, and located it on Walnut Hills, at that time two miles from Cincinnati. The Rev. Lyman Beecher of Boston was appointed president and professor of didactic and polemic theology, and the Rev. Thomas J. Biggs of Frankford, Pennsylvania, was named professor of ecclesiastical history and church polity. One professorship of $20,000 and two more of $15,000 had been secured by 1831, excellent encouragement for so young an institution.

            Another denominational school organized at about the same time was the collegiate institution under the name of the Atheneum established by the Roman Catholic church. A large building was erected on Sycamore street next to the cathedral, 130 feet long, 50 feet wide, and two stories high. In connection with the school was a preparatory grammar school which prepared the pupils especially for college classes, and the entire system was under the control and general superintendence of the Bishop of Cincinnati and the resident clergy. The success of this college was assured from the start by the resources at the command of the founders and the vigorous method of conducting it.

            While, as had been advocated years before, the Miami university was not moved from Oxford to Cincinnati, a concession was at least made in favor of this city by the establishment by the trustees, (page 601) in 1830, of the medical department of the university here. It went into operation in the fall of 1831, the lectures being given in the hall of the Mechanic's institute and in a new building on the corer of Race and Longworth streets. Daniel Drake received the appointment as dean of the faculty and professor of the institutes and practice of medicine. Six other doctors were associated with him on the faculty, a comprehensive course of lectures and experiments being conducted.

            As a great number of medical students spent their summers in Cincinnati, and in order to furnish a school for them, eight physicians voluntarily associated themselves together for the purpose of giving summer lectures and recitations. Their organization was named the Academy of Medicine, and prominent on the list of lecturers was the name of Dr. Daniel Drake, that public-spirited man giving a course in the practice of physic and. materia medica. One of the best institutions in the city at that time was the Woodward Free Grammar school. This school furnished free the means of a classical and scientific education to boys who showed sufficient talent and yet could not afford to pay for an education. This school was incorporated in 1826, being founded by Mr. William Woodward of Cincinnati, who from time to time very liberally endowed it. He gave for the support of this school real estate to the value of $35,000, entrusted to five trustees who managed the school and who very wisely allowed the funds to accumulate for several years until the income ins 1831 was $1,800 per year. It was located on a lot 220 feet square on Franklin street, near Broadway, and a commodious building was erected in 1831. It had professors in the departments of languages, mathematics, and English literature, and an excellent course of instruction was given. However, the law which was subsequently passed providing for free public schools in the city, made unnecessary such an institution as the Woodward Free Grammar school, and the trustees and founder applied, therefore, for a new act permitting the nature and name of the school to be changed, and their application was readily granted. The new name of the institution was The Woodward High school, but in 1836 the state legislature authorized the trustees to incorporate with the high school a college department to be called The Woodward College of Cincinnati. The same men who had charge of the high school were appointed to positions in the collegiate department, and a thorough course of instruction was offered in nearly every branch of learning. The college was especially adapted to the demands of the city, because of the diversity of the professions which were included in the curriculum. Excellent preparation for the bar, for the medical profession, and for the clergy were there to be obtained. And for those desiring an education in the manual arts, civil engineering, or a general commercial education, complete, information on the subjects of their choice were given. The finances of the school were in very good shape, and it was possible for from forty to fifty free students to be admitted annually. In 1836, the students numbered between 130 and 140 and the location of the school was a helpful addition to its popularity, being situated at some distance from the business part of the city.

            (page 602) The Cincinnati college, after lying dormant for about ten years, was resuscitated in 1835 by the establishment of the medical and law departments. Unfortunately for the success of the school, the building which had been partially completed before the school had suspended its classes, and one of the largest in the city, had fallen into such a state of disrepair, and a considerable expenditure of money was made necessary to restore it to good condition. This was done, the building being enlarged, and the lecture rooms fitted up with apparatus and having a capacity of 300 pupils. The money used to repair the building and put the school into operation was subscribed by several hundred citizens of Cincinnati, and the funds thus raised were governed by a body of trustees elected annually by those who gave money to the cause. The medical department boasted a dissecting room thirty by forty-five feet, and there was a garden in conjunction with the school in which various exotic and indigenous plants were grown for instructing the pupils in botany. At the end of the first session the trustees conferred the degree of M. D. on eighteen students, and the degree of LLB. on five others. It was the policy of the men governing the institution to increase the number of courses given, and there was a department established for the special education of teachers for not only the common schools and academies but for the colleges as well. The medical faculty of the school was composed of Dr. Daniel Drake, Dr. John P. Harrison, Dr. James B. Rogers, Dr. Landon C. Rives, Dr. Horatio G. Jameson, Dr. Samuel D. Gross, Dr. Joseph N. McDowell, Dr. John L. Riddell, and Dr. J. S. Dodge. The law faculty consisted of three lawyers from the local bar, John C. Wright, Joseph S. Benham, and Timothy Walker, all three among the most prominent men in their profession.

            The Medical College of Ohio was a flourishing organization in 1835, having a student body of 127 and a faculty fully able to cope with the duties of their profession. The anatomical department in particular was a highly developed branch of the school, and was equipped with the necessary apparatus. The school owned instruments to the value of $6,000 and a library of over 1,700 volumes. The Sisters of Charity (Catholic) were very active in teaching the children of the city, and their school on Sixth street near Main was attended by over 1,200 pupils in that year, of whom 200 were in the Sisters' charge. In addition to .this number upward of 200 German children were in attendance for the purpose of learning English, making a total of above 1,400 pupils, or about one-fifth of all the school children in the city.

            Besides these institutions mentioned, there were in 1835 eight male academies, ten female academies, and four musical academies. An interesting report was made in that year by the trustees and visitors of the common schools. The population of Cincinnati was then about 29,000, and it was estimated that the number of white children between the ages of- six and sixteen was about 5,500, of whom about 3,300 were in attendance on the various public and private schools throughout the city. Of these 3,300 children, about 2,400 attended the public schools, that is to say they were enrolled as belonging to the public schools, but the actual number in (page 603) attendance did not exceed 1,900. The younger children were found to be in quite regular attendance, but only about 14 per cent of those fifteen years of age enrolled for instruction. There were eighteen public school houses, in all comprising thirty rooms of twenty-six by thirty-eight feet. Forty-three teachers for the different grades were employed, having a daily average of about forty-five pupils, making an annual per capita cost for the education of the children about $8. There were fourteen male principals employed at $500 a year, ten male assistants at $300, four female principals at $250, and fifteen female assistants at $200, making a total expense to the city for teachers' salaries of $14,000. The city was divided into ten school districts, there was a board of trustees and visitors made up of five citizens, and a board of examiners and inspectors composed of eight citizens, the trustees meeting every week and the examiners once a month at the council chamber on Fourth street.

            The public schools of the city were so successful that they soon became the pride of the people, and brought glory on the name of Cincinnati in all the western country. It was possible for a parent to give his children, without any direct expense being incurred by him, an education in reading, spelling, arithmetic, writing, geography, grammar, history, astronomy, higher mathematics, natural philosophy, and political economy. The greatest encouragement was given by the teachers to the pupils in their work, that they might be induced to continue after they had completed the course prescribed in the common schools and take up an academic, or college course. A more. cultured people were attracted to the city by the advantages afforded in an educational way, and the city was in many ways benefited. One result of the refining influence that the better education of the children had was the establishment in 1834 of the Eclectic Academy of Music by a number of public-spirited men who desired to stimulate the love for music in the inhabitants of Cincinnati. The school was incorporated by the state legislature in the following year, and the men in charge of it brought a Mr. T. B. Mason from Boston to be professor of music. This man was so successful in his efforts to create interest in the art and exerted such a beneficent influence upon the pupils who came to him that he was retained in his position for many years. It was said that the taste of the community was greatly improved through his teachings, and that the church music of the city underwent a complete revolution. About seventy performing members were in attendance on this school, and there was an orchestra of fifteen pieces. The orchestra met every week, and on the first Saturday evening of the month a public performance was given, the selections being rendered with such an amount of skill and feeling that the orchestra became known as one of the best in the entire country. Jacob Burnet was active in this organization, being president for some time.

            In 1840 was held the first meeting of the Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge. This was not in the fullest sense a school, but it was so influential in the education of its members that it is well to include a brief account of its aims and organization here. Its constitution, adopted at the first meeting, included for its plan (page 604) of operation practical teaching, exact and mixed sciences, natural science, practical arts, fine arts, medicine, law, political economy and political science, moral and intellectual philosophy, history, language, commerce acid agriculture, polite literature, and statistics. This wide range of subjects to be taken up made it possible for persons of the most diverse tastes to enter into the work of the society with benefit to themselves. The members of this society, desiring a higher intellectual development, divided themselves into various sections for the purpose of pursuing some particular branch of study, each section having its own officers, but all sections affiliated together under the general organization. Sporadic lectures were found not to be-very satisfactory, so on the whole general courses of lectures were adopted as benefiting the members most. Tickets to the lectures were sold at as low a price as was consistent to meet the expenses of hiring a hall and paying the lecturer, although lecturers usually gave their services gratuitously, and the lectures were open to all who wished to attend. The keynote of the society was struck in a publication of the time in which there is so much of truth that it may well be quoted here. "Every individual in a community is bound to contribute his best and highest spiritual treasures to his fellow men. A miser of mind is more contemptible than a miser of money. The highest charity and the plainest, justice is to share with others, especially with all who have few advantages, what gives most light, strength, and joy to our own souls. Again, free institutions are based on the conviction that every individual, without regard to class and condition, has a right, limited only by his degree of capacity, to all the virtue and intelligence which the community possesses, and is entitled to the best opportunities for growth and usefulness which the community can give. Only by the acknowledgment of this right, in profession and practice, can free institutions be preserved. By acting on these two disinterested principles, this society hopes to realize greater success than by engaging the services of hired lecturers."

            Since the middle of the last century the growth and development of the schools of Cincinnati has been regular and assured. The embryo stage had been left behind with the settling of the city into the well regulated paths of older cities. The difficult period in the life of all schools had been successfully passed in most instances, the period when so much hinges on the popularity of the new institution, if it be a private one, and the financial support and attitude of the people of the city, if it be a public school. By the year 1850 the common schools were running on well ordered schedules, and were giving proper preparatory courses for academies, which corresponded to the modern high school in most respects, and for the colleges and universities of which there were several in the city. But before passing on to the modern phase of the history of the schools in Cincinnati, it is well to make a recapitulation of the early history, and what progress had been made up to 1850 can best be judged from a description of the school conditions of that year. The educational organization was divided into three classes, the primary schools, which gave an elementary course of instruction; the academies; which gave a little of the higher learning, such (page 605) as the beginning of the classics, science, and higher mathematics, and a third class, colleges and universities, the latter supposedly giving instruction in all branches of learning, but usually giving courses in science, philosophy, belles-lettres, classics, law, medicine, and theology. There were also in Cincinnati, as in other large cities, lecture and reading rooms for the purpose of educating men in practical lines, such as the Lyceum, the Mechanic's institute, and the Young Men's Mercantile library.

            There were three kinds of primary schools in the city, the public schools, which, of course, took care of the big majority of the children ; the parochial schools, and the private schools. The public schools were founded on the principle adopted in the first legislation of the Northwest Territory that "schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." By acts of congress and the Ohio legislature, liberal public grants of land were made for the support of the schools, as has been heretofore described, and it was possible in 1850 for any man to give his children an-elementary education if he wished to, but it was unfortunately true that many children did not attend the schools, and the majority of those who did remained only long enough to gain a knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic. There were two sources of income for the support of the schools, one being the city's proportion of the state school fund, and the other by direct tax on the property of the citizens in proportion as the needs of the school demanded. For the year 1848-9 the total amount of money received for the support of the schools in Cincinnati was $65,103, of which amount only $7,204 was from the State School fund. As for the organization and buildings of the school sufficient has already been said, the organization being simply a board of trustee, a board of examiners, and the teachers. The buildings used for the public schools were thirteen in number in 1850, of uniform construction, and including both day and night schools capable of accommodating 800 pupils each. To keep pace with the growth of the city, 138 teachers were employed in 1850 which was an increase of more than 100 per cent over the number employed ten years previous. There was an enrollment of 12,240 pupils for the year, but the daily attendance was only 5,557 owing to the great number who were annually absorbed into the business houses of the city. The number of children attending the Catholic Parochial schools which were thirteen in number, was 4,494, showing that at that time the church was educating almost as many children as the state.

            There were a very large number of private academies and schools in Cincinnati, the probable number being fifty, and the students in attendance upon them reaching 2,500. Among the more important of these academies were the Young Ladies' Literary institute and Boarding school (Catholic), the Ursuline academy      (Catholic), Wesleyan Female college, Cincinnati Female seminary, Herron's seminary for boys, St. John's college, Lyman Harding's seminary for girls, Mrs. Lloyd's seminary for girls, E. S. Brooks' Classical school for boys, and R. & H. H. Young's school for boys. There were three colleges in the city, which were properly called colleges. They were the Cincinnati college, the Woodward (page 606) college, and the St. Xavier college, although in the first only the Law department continued at that time to give its course. There were four medical colleges with a total attendance during the winter of about 450. There was a number of mercantile schools, or, as they are now called, business colleges, in the city at that time three of which were incorporated and taught bookkeeping and commercial law in conjunction with the usual preparatory business training. There were five regularly established schools for instruction in theology, Lane seminary (Presbyterian, New), Presbyterian Theological seminary (Old), Seminary of St. Francis Xavier (Catholic), and the Baptist Theological seminary. There was 'no city in the United States where a wider range of subjects was taught or where more talented teachers were to be met with, the only way in which the older cities of the country were in any way superior to Cincinnati in the educational advantages afforded, was in the matter of libraries, which time alone can develop. For the last half of the century and the first part of this, the growth of the school organization has been commensurate with that of the city. There have been changes made from time to time in some part of the working plan. Buildings have been erected and torn down as they became obsolete, new colleges and special schools have been added to the list of the city's educational establishments, most of which have endured to the present day, and now Cincinnati can proudly boast a school system with a degree of organization and efficiency that approaches the perfect, and better than which there is none in this or any other country.

            The last available figures and statistics of the public schools are those published in the Annual Report of the Superintendent of the Cincinnati public schools for 1917. Perusing this briefly, and taking some of the salient points, it is learned that in that year there were sixty public elementary schools in the city. The number of teachers needed to supply these sixty schools was 1,170, and the number of teachers employed for the entire year was 1,098, of whom 126 were men and 972 were women. There were seven high schools, in which were employed 233 teachers, Hughes and Woodward high schools being the two largest and employing 87 and 83 teachers respectively. The number of pupils enrolled during the year in the public elementary schools were 45,704, but of this number 8,527 were withdrawn during the year, leaving 37,177 remaining. The high schools had an enrollment of 5,345 for the year, and the special schools, 3,455, giving a total enrollment in the public day schools of the city of 54,504 for the year. In addition to this number there were 8,431 who attended the public night schools making a grand total of 62,935.

            As for the finances of the public schools, the fiscal year beginning September 1, 1916, started off with a balance of $1,780,911.28, the total receipts for the year from all sources were $2,873,217.55, and the expenditures for the year were $3,207,128.83, leaving a balance on August 31, 1917. It should be a satisfaction to the people of Cincinnati to know that their city has fully maintained the schools, built new schools, paid good salaries to the teachers, and in every way done the things that are necessary to the correct (page 607) development of the system ; and that all this had been done in spite of the fact that the percentage allowed to the schools is smaller than in any other city in the state over 50,000, being only ten mills, in accordance with the Smith one per cent law. However, it has been. for many years necessary for the school authorities to ask for an additional levy of taxes to the amount of about one mill in order that the beneficial special features of the school work could be continued. It has indeed been gratifying to see how unquestioningly the voters of the city have responded to these requests for more money for the use of the schools, and it is an excellent indication of the spirit that has always existed in the city for the encouragement of the cause of education.

            Occupying a prominent place in the educational matters of the city is the public library. Indeed, so potent a factor is it in the public instruction that one of the board of trustees is always chosen from the board of education. The first effort that was made to have a public library in Cincinnati was made on the evening of February 13, 1802, when some of the more influential citizens met in Yeatman's tavern. Here, Jacob Burnet, Isaac Baum, and Lewis Kerr were appointed to obtain subscriptions at $10 per share, the funds to be used for founding and support of a public library. The first man to place his name on the subscription list was Governor Arthur St. Clair, first governor of the Northwest Territory. The library was opened on March 6, 1802, and Lewis Kerr was the librarian. From that time on for many years the life of the library was a precarious one. It had no regular home, and the volumes which it contained were of a varying number. It was sustained purely by private donations until the year 1867. At that time it became apparent that unless there was a regular source of income, it could not be maintained, and through the influence of Rev. John M. Walden, the state legislature passed an act enabling the city to assess one-tenth of a mill to be used as a library fund, thus giving it an income of over $13,000 a year. In the same year as the passage of this act, the legislature passed another authorizing the board of education to constitute a board of seven managers, of which the president of the board was to be one. With the expansion of the city the libraries in the suburbs which have been absorbed have become branch libraries, until now there are twenty-four branches, thirteen of which have their own buildings, and also forty-two distributing agencies. In 1902, Andrew Carnegie offered $180,000 for the erection of six branches of the public library in Cincinnati. The legislature immediately passed an act enabling the board of trustees to accept the offer, but the state supreme court declared the act to be unconstitutional. However, this obstacle was later removed, and now nine branch library buildings within the city, with an approximate cost of $310,000, owe their existence to the philanthropy of Mr. Carnegie. The total number of volumes in the whole Cincinnati public library system is now (1919), in round numbers, 500,000, with Mr. N. D. C. Hodges as librarian since 1900.

            The University of Cincinnati has been mentioned from time to time in this chapter. To have followed it through all the winding course of its progress, from the time of its incipiency to its (page 608) present state of completeness as an institution of higher learning, would occupy too much space in this volume, but a few statistics taken from a recent catalogue of the university will show how extensive an establishment it has grown to be.

            During its existence many benefactions have been provided by individual citizens for the .maintenance of the institution. In 1858, Charles McMicken bequeathed the city of Cincinnati almost his entire estate, valued at about $1,000,000, for the purpose of establishing and maintaining "two colleges for the education of white boys and girls." Unfortunately for the. success of his plan, most of his property lay in Louisiana, and when the will was protested by his heirs the supreme court of that state annulled it. This left for the school only that part of the estate which lay in Cincinnati, and this was insufficient to establish such a college as Mr. McMicken had desired. Finally, however, the city undertook to finance the institution by public taxation. Additional funds have been given for the maintenance of the school to the amount of $1,271,500, which makes a total endowment of about $4,000,000. Inasmuch as the site of the McMicken estate was altogether impractical for the college, it was removed to Burnet Woods park in the year 1893, where it is today. There are between 350 and 400 officers of instruction and administration at the university, and Charles William Dabney, Ph.D., LL.D., is president. There are eight departments in the university : the graduate school, McMicken college of liberal arts, college for teachers, college of engineering, college of medicine, college of. commerce, household arts, and the affiliated department; and a total attendance for all departments of about 3,000 students.

 

The Press

 

            In the limited space which can here be devoted to the newspapers and other publications, it is impossible to take specific notice of all the periodicals which have made their appearance in Cincinnati, but in so far as possible a chronological account of the progress of this great force in the development of the city will be given. The city had been in existence but a short time when the first newspaper was born. The editor and proprietor, William Maxwell of New Jersey, set up his small printing office on the corner of Front and Sycamore streets, and on November 9, 1793, the first issue of his paper appeared. It was called the Centinel of the Northwest Territory, and had. for its motto, "Open to all parties, but influenced by none." It was a weekly publication, printed on a half sheet royal of quarto size, the paper used being of a poor grade and yellowish in color. Not only was it the first newspaper in Cincinnati, but it had the distinction of being the first newspaper printed north of the Ohio river and third or fourth west of the Allegheny mountains. Maxwell conducted his newspaper for nearly three years, and then, in the summer of 1796, he sold it to Edmund Freeman, who changed the name of the paper to the Freeman's journal continuing the publication of it until 1800 when he removed to Chillicothe. The first editor of the paper, William Maxwell, became so well and favorably known to his townspeople that upon the death of Abner Dunn, (page 609)  the first postmaster, which occurred in 1794, he was appointed to the office.

            The next paper to make its appearance in the metropolis of the western country was the Western Spy and Hamilton Gazette. The first number of this paper was issued on May 28, 1799, and its editor was Joseph Carpenter, a native of Massachusetts. It was continued under several managements and changes of editors for ten years when it passed into the hands of Messrs. Carney & Morgan who changed the name of the publication to the Whig. After fifty-eight numbers of the Whig had been published, its name was changed to the Advertiser, and under this name it was published until the month of November in 1811 when it passed out of existence. An interesting item in connection with the Spy was the appearance on April 26, 1802, of an advertisement by Andrew Jackson of a fifty-dollar reward for the return of his slave George, who had run away from the Jackson plantation on the Cumberland river.

            Joseph Carpenter, the first editor of the Spy, went into the newspaper business again in 1810, when he began the publication. of the Western Spy anew. At the outbreak of the War of 1812 he volunteered his services and, led a company of militia under the command of General Harrison. Captain Carpenter died in the military service of his country from exposure in 1814 and was buried in Cincinnati with all military honors. The Western Spy was then edited by Messrs. Morgan & Williams who continued its publication for several years. In the year 1815 it attained to the size. of a super royal sheet, and was subscribed for by 1,200 persons. Another weekly newspaper, Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Mercury, was established by John W. Browne in the year 1801, but it soon changed hands, Messrs. Looker and Wallace becoming its editors, and who, in 1815, had a subscription list numbering upwards of 1,400.

            In July, 1814, a paper destined to be short lived was begun under the name of the Spirit of the West which continued for 41 issues. In July of the following year, the first issue of the Cincinnati Gazette was made by Thomas Palmer & Company.

            So far all the papers had been weekly publications, and the Liberty Hall and the Western Spy both had presses for the printing of books. Between 1811 and 1815 there were twelve books averaging over 200 pages printed and bound in Cincinnati in addition to the regular issues of the newspapers and many pamphlets. For about the first two decades during which newspapers were printed at Cincinnati, the paper was brought first from Pennsylvania, and later from Kentucky, but about 1815 two paper mills were established on the Little Miami river within thirty' miles of Cincinnati and supplied most of the printing and writing paper used in the city.

            In 1819, there were three newspapers published in Cincinnati, Western Spy and Cincinnati General Advertiser, published weekly ; Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette, semi-weekly; and the Inquisitor and Cincinnati Advertiser, weekly.' All three of these papers were printed on an imperial sheet, and the printing was well and neatly done. Liberal patronage was afforded them, and to (page 610) each of them was attached a job printing and a book printing office. There were in addition two book and job printing offices in the city, and so great was the demand for work of that kind to be done that all the establishments in the city were kept constantly busy. The outstanding feature of these early newspapers was the vast amount of reprinting of public documents, laws, and the like which was done. They contained almost no editorial matter, and very little of news ; advertisements were inserted to considerable extent, the newspapers being, in fact, the most popular medium for sending out duns.

            Toward the close of the year 1819, the Literary Cadet made its appearance, and was more of a literary rather than news publication. Its editor was Dr. Joseph Buchanan and it was published for twenty-three numbers when it was combined with another paper, and the name of Western Spy and Literary Cadet given to it. The efforts of G. F. Hopkins, the editor of the Inquisitor, were directed towards advocating the construction of canals, and it was largely due to the influence of this paper in moulding public sentiment in their favor, and through the good work of Micajah T. Williams in the state legislature that the opposition to these necessary improvements was overcome.

            In the year 1823, the name of the Spy was changed to National Republican and Ohio Political Register, and was edited by Elijah Hayward and Samuel Q. Richardson. The paper was published twice a week, and with the new type which had been purchased by the proprietors gained the reputation of being the most handsomely printed paper in the entire region. This newspaper continued for several years and gave encouragement to many of the young poets and writers of the community. It bought out the Independent Press and Freeman's Advocate, a paper which had endured for sixteen months, and it became so popular that the Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette made added efforts to improve its sheet which was published at that time twice weekly.

            A young man who held a rather prominent place in the editorial and literary circles of the day was Benjamin Drake, a brother of Dr. Daniel Drake. Benjamin had come to Cincinnati for the purpose of going into the drug business, but his natural bent was towards literary productions and he soon deserted the pestle for the pen. He was contributor to the newspapers for several years, associated with Mr. Mansfield in the publication of a review of the city published in 1826, and in that year became the editor of a weekly paper called the Cincinnati Chronicle which was established by a person named Buxton. Drake continued as editor of this paper until it was combined with the Cincinnati Mirror in 1834. In 1826, the list of newspapers in Cincinnati as given by Drake and Mansfield in their review of the city was: Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette, National Republican and Ohio Political Register, Cincinnati Advertiser, National Crisis and Cincinnati Emporium, all of which were semi-weekly publications. In addition to these semi-weeklies there were three weekly papers, the Parthenon, Western Tiller, and Saturday Evening Chronicle; and one daily newspaper, the Cincinnati Commercial Register.

            (page 611) The Commercial Register had the distinction of being not only the first daily paper in Cincinnati, but also the first daily to be published west of Philadelphia. The first issue of this paper was in 1826, and it was printed every day but Sunday for a period of six months when it went out of existence. Its proprietor was S. S. Brooks, its editor, Morgan Neville, and the subscription price was $6 a year. In 1828, it was recommenced, but its life this time was of even shorter duration, it being published only for three months.

            The second daily paper in Cincinnati came into existence soon after the suspension of the first under the name of the Daily Gazette. The business men of the town, realizing the need of a daily newspaper in the city, called upon the proprietors of the Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette, commonly known as the Gazette, and urged that they publish a daily paper. They were successful in their efforts, and the first number of the Daily Gazette appeared Monday, June 25, 1827, with an edition of 125. For nearly ten years the paper was printed on an old hand press, the speed with which the papers could be turned out not exceeding 250 per hour, but in 1836 an Adams press, the first to be set up west of the Allegheny mountains, was bought, and though it was operated by hand, the speed of printing was increased to 750 per hour. Charles Hammond was the first editor of the Gazette, and the proprietors were Morgan, Lodge, and 'Fisher. Hammond continued as editor of the paper until his death in 1840, and did much to guide public opinion in a proper course, and the moral tone of the publication was so high that it gained an enviable reputation throughout the entire western country. The Gazette continued until the year 1883, when it was, on January 4th, united with the Cincinnati Commercial.

            In 1831, there was an extensive list of newspapers and periodicals published in the directory, together with the names of the editors. It was as follows: Daily, Tri-Weekly, and Weekly: Cincinnati Daily Gazette, C. Hammond, editor ; Commercial Daily Advertiser, E. S. Thomas, editor ; Daily National Republican, Looker & Reynolds. Semi-Weekly: Cincinnati American, I. Thomas, editor Tuesday and Friday; Cincinnati Advertiser, M. Dawson, editor Wednesday and Saturday. Weekly : Cincinnati Chronicle, E. Deming, publisher-Saturday; Cincinnati Journal, A. Blanchard, editor-Friday; Western Tiller, J. P. Foote, editor-Friday; Sentinel and Star, J. C. Waldo, editor-Saturday. Semi-Monthly: Ladies' Museum, J. Whetstone, publisher-Saturday; Methodist Correspondent, M. M. Henkle-Monday. Monthly: Illinois Monthly Magazine, James Hall, editor; Farmer's Reporter, H. L. Barnum, editor. Quarterly: Western Journal of Medicine, Drs. Finley & Drake.

            It is surprising to note to what an extent the printing and publishing business had grown in Cincinnati in the few years previous to 1831, and some figures will give an idea of the amount of this business done. During four months in 1831, there were issued from the periodical press of the city 243,200 printed sheets, and in the same period of time there were printed by the book concerns 86,000 volumes, of which 20,300 were of original works.

            (page 612) One of the best known of the papers published at the time of which we speak was the Cincinnati Mirror, edited by W. D. Gallagher. It had its beginning in 1831 as a semi-monthly quarto of eight pages, and, due to the excellent reputation of its editor as a local literary light, a large circulation was built up, and the     gaed changed to a weekly. However, as is too often the case, editor was not a good business manager, and the paper was so little of a success financially that it became consolidated with the Chronicle in 1835.

            In 1836, occurred one of the most unfortunate and disgraceful affairs in the history of the local press. Two years earlier, the Ohio Anti-Slavery society had been formed and authorized the publication of a paper to be called the Philanthropist. A paper was accordingly started at New Richmond in 1834 by James G. Birney, but was so unpopular in that town that it was discontinued. In the spring of 1836, it was moved to Cincinnati, the headquarters of the society, but so large a pro-slavery element existed in the city that the publication was strongly objected to. In July there was a meeting of this element of the city, and a resolution was adapted to the effect that no newspaper advocating abolition should be published or distributed in Cincinnati. But this resolution little affected the editor of the Philanthropist, and it continued to make its appearance. On the 14th of July, a mob forcibly entered the office of Mr. A. Pugh, where the Philanthropist was printed, and partially destroyed the press and type. Even this outbreak failed to discourage the editor, Mr. Birney, and the paper continued to be published until an infuriated crowd of men and boys raided the printing office, threw the type into the street, and demolished the furniture and press. The homes of several prominent abolitionists were visited later in the same day, but no harm was done. The homes of several negroes were burned down, however, and considerable property was destroyed. Thus was the Philanthropist brought to a violent end, and its editor driven out of town. Throughout the entire affair, the attitude of Mr. Birney was highly commended by Mr. Charles Hammond, editor of the Gazette, not on account of the political views of the paper, but in the interest of the    freedom of the press.

            The postage rates in the early days are of interest for the sake of comparison with the present rates. In 1836 the rate on newspapers not carried over one hundred miles or for any distance within the state where they were printed, was one cent for each paper. If they were carried over one hundred miles and out of the state where they were printed, the charge was 1Y2 cents. The rates on periodicals, pamphlets, and magazines corresponded to the rates on newspapers, being one cent a sheet if not carried over one hundred miles, 2 cents a sheet if carried over one hundred miles, and for those publications which were not periodicals, the charge was 4 cents a sheet for on distances of over one hundred miles. and 6 cents a sheet for distances of over one undred miles.

            The year 1836 saw the beginning of the Family Magazine, a small monthly magazine, which sold at $2 per year. Eli Taylor was the founder, and he was succeeded by J. A. James, the magazine being published for six years. In the same year, W. D. (page 613) Gallagher began the publication of the Western Literary Journal and Monthly Review, the largest magazine established up to that time in the west, but although it was a publication of merit, it was doomed to financial failure and died out during 1837, the luckless editor going to Columbus, where he was again met by failure. Two other periodicals of a more or less literary trend which came at this time were the Literary Register and the Literary journal, neither of which met with much success. - In 1836, there was a revival of the Chronicle, the paper of which Drake had been the editor in 1826. This paper had been merged with The Mirror in 1834, and later sold to members of the medical faculty of Cincinnati university, who desired it as the institution's organ. However, they were unsuccessful in its management, and in 1837 it became the property of Achilles Pugh and William Dodd. These men retained E. D. Mansfield as editor, and such was its success that it was changed to a daily in December, 1839, when it bought out the subscription list of the Whig. The publishers and the editor were opposed to slavery and liquor, and many were the troubles which they experienced on this account. In Cincinnati, at that time, fully two-thirds of the population favored slavery, and most of the remainder were neutral. No advertisements were accepted from liquor dealers or places where liquor was sold or drunk, and for this reason much revenue was lost to the paper. Benjamin Drake was associated with Mr. Mansfield in the editorial department of the Chronicle until 1840, and after that Mansfield continued as editor until 1848. In 1850 the Chronicle was absorbed by the Atlas, which lived until a few years later. The Chronicle had some very distinguished contributors during its existence, Harriet Beecher's first story finding its way into print in the columns of the Chronicle in 1835, as she lived in Cincinnati at the time while her father and Prof. Stowe, who later became her husband, were in residence at Lane seminary. Others of less fame in the literary world expressed their views to the public. through the medium of that paper's pages, and some of the most noted editors of the state began their newspaper careers in its office. In the year 1841, _ there were twenty-nine periodicals published in Cincinnati, six of which were daily papers. The daily papers were the Cincinnati Daily Gazette, Cincinnati Chronicle, Cincinnati Republican, Advertiser and Journal, Daily Times, and Public Ledger. The total daily issue of these papers numbering 5,300. The Daily Times had the largest 'circulation, numbering 1,500 subscribers, and the Public Ledger was second with 1,400. The remaining twenty-three periodicals were published less often than every day and were German, religious, agricultural, and temperance publications in the main, including also the Philanthropist, which, under a different editor, was now tolerated.

            During the next decade there was a vast increase in the number of periodicals published in Cincinnati, there being fifty-three in all in 1851. Of this number ten were daily papers, six in English and four in German, and in politics three were Whig, three Democrat, three neutral, and one non-political. During this period the most important paper that had its beginning was the Cincinnati Commercial, started in 1843 by Curtis and Hasting. This paper had a (page 614) brilliant career from the day of its inception, and has numbered some of the country's best talent among its editors.

            In the decade preceding the Civil war there were several artistic and literary publications attempted, but all sooner or later proved to be financial failures. Prominent among these endeavors was the Pen and Pencil, a magazine of sixteen octavo pages, which made weekly appearances for about a year. William Wallace was the publisher, and the magazine was devoted to art. Another magazine of note in this period was the Genius of the West, a monthly publication of thirty-two octavo pages conducted by Howard Dunham. Its literary staff was composed of the best talent in the district, and it had a brilliant but brief existence, passing out in 1856 after having undergone several transmutations in ownership.

            From the days of the Civil war down to the present the growth and development of the press has kept pace with that of the city in every respect. Great improvements have been made in the mechanical processes attendant on the printing of the papers, and their distribution throughout the rural districts and to other cities in the valley has been greatly facilitated by the betterment in transportation facilities, the introduction of railroads, and a more efficient government postoffice department.

            The Cincinnati Enquirer had its beginning in the Phoenix and the Commercial Advertiser, Moses Dawson being the editor and establishing his paper as early as 1828. Shortly before 1840, the Phoenix was purchased from Dawson by Mr. John Brough, who edited it under the name of the Enquirer until 1848, with great ability and sound policy. He was a politician of note, and after his retirement from the staff of the Enquirer he devoted much of his time to politics. In 1863 he was elected governor of the state by a majority of over 100,000 votes. In 1844, an interest in the paper was purchased by the Hon. James J. Farran, and a little later Mr. Washington McLean bought out the interest of Mr. Derby. A few years later, John McLean, the son of Washington McLean was associated with the paper, and he and Mr. Farran became the sole proprietors. Mr. Farran served in the capacity of managing editor until 1867. About the year 1880 Mr. John R. McLean became sole owner of the paper and since that time it has been known throughout the entire United States as a newspaper of surpassing excellence, as its wide circulation attests. _ The Cincinnati Enquirer is now, in 1919, in its seventy-sixth volume, and its price is 5 cents. Its office is at 617 Vine street, and its rates of subscription are : By mail, postpaid, all payable in advance, daily, including Sunday, for one year, $14; daily, except Sunday, $12 for one year; and the rate of the Sunday issue alone for the period of one year is at $3. The Weekly Enquirer, which is published on every Thursday, sells for 75 cents per year. The subscription rates, if delivered by carriers in Cincinnati and suburbs, is 20 cents per week. The paper is on sale at all the principal news stands of the country, and is one of the most widely read newspapers in the country. It is a member of the Associated Press, and reserves the right of republication of all special dispatches which appear in it. It maintains news bureaus in New York in the Herald building, and in Washington in the Post building.

            (page 615) Its advertising branches are located at New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

            The Commercial Tribune was founded in 1843 under the name of the Cincinnati - Commercial, by Curtis and Hastings, the first number making its appearance on October 2 of that year. Its success was assured from the start by its very character. It was an entertaining daily, and carried many features of especial local interest, much attention being paid to the river traffic. In a short time M r. Hastings withdrew from the paper, and his partner, L. G. Curtis, associated himself with his brother-in-law, J. W. S. Browne. In 1848, it being felt that a practical printer, with knowledge of running the business end of the establishment, was necessary to the success of the paper, M. D. Potter was given charge of that department, and upon the retirement of Mr. Browne a few years later he was admitted into partnership with Mr. Curtis. After the death of that gentleman in 1851, his interest in the paper was bought by Mr. Potter, who sold it to Richard Henry Lee of the treasury department. On March 9, 1853, Mr. Murat Halstead became a member of the editorial staff, leaving the Weekly Columbian to take up his new position.

            No account of the activities of the Cincinnati Press could be complete without some brief outline of the life of Murat Halstead, who was one of the foremost editors, travelers, and authors of the country. He was born in Ross township, Butler county, Ohio, on September 2, 1829. He was the son of Griffin and Clarissa (Willets) Halstead. His early life was spent on the farm of his father, and he attended school in the winter months, for one term being fortunate enough to be able to attend a select school in the vicinity. After completing the preliminary phase of his education, he taught school for two terms, and then attended the Farmers' college near Cincinnati, from which institution he was graduated. He was married on March 2, 1857, to Miss Mary Banks of Cincinnati. He began his newspaper career on a literary weekly, and joined the staff of the Cincinnati Commercial in 1853. In the following year, he bought an interest in the paper, and in the year 1865 he became head of the firm. When the Commercial was consolidated with the Gazette under the name of the Commercial Gazette, he became editor-in chief. In 1899, he was nominated by President Harrison as minister to Germany, but his appointment was rejected by the senate on account of several articles which he had written about the purchase of senatorial seats. During the later years of his life, he became prominent as a special correspondent and magazine writer. He went to the Philippine islands during the war with Spain. He was the author of numerous works, prominent among which were : The Convention of 1860, The White Dollar, The Story of Cuba, Life of William McKinley, The Story of the Philippines, The History of American Expansion, Our Country in War, Official History of the War with Spain, Life of Admiral Dewey, The Great Century, The Boer and British War, The Galveston Tragedy, and The War between Russia and Japan. He resided at 643 West Fourth street during the declining years of his life, and died in the year 1908.

            (page 616) After several changes in the ownership and firm name had been n, de, a stock company was formed in 1879 under the name of M. Halstead & Co., with a capital stock of $235,000. In" 1883, it was united with the Gazette, with the name of Commercial Gazette, and flourished under that title until 1897, when a consolidation was effected with the Tribune, a paper which had been in active existence for three years. The new name of the paper became the Commercial Tribune, and that is the title under which it is now published. The office of the paper is at Walnut street and Government place, and Harry W. Brown is the publisher and' president of the firm. It is issued daily, Sunday included, and the price is 2 cents a copy on week days, 5 cents on Sunday, and, if delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week exclusive of the Sunday paper. It has branch news offices in Covington, Kentucky, Newport, Kentucky, New York City, Washington, Chicago, and London. It is a member of the Associated Press, and is now in its twenty-fourth volume (1919). The Cincinnati Times-Star, one of the city's leading afternoon papers, was founded in 1821 by Calvin W. Starbuck, under the name of The Times. It was largely due to the enterprise of the editor that the Times became a successful paper, for he was for many years the fastest typesetter in the west, and, until the finances of the publication were on a solid basis, he did most of the composition and even delivered many of the papers himself. Mr. Starbuck was but nineteen years of age when he commenced his newspaper, and he continued with this until the time of his death, which occurred in 1870. At that time it was bought by a number of business men of the city, including in their number Calvin W. Thomas, Benjamin Eggleston, and Alexander Sands, the proprietors of the Daily Chronicle. The paper was then known as the Times-Chronicle for a short time, but soon reverted to simply the Times. The Star was started in 1872, its first number being issued on February 2 of that year by the Star Publishing company. In 1880, the Times was sold to David Sinton, Charles P. Taft, and H. P. Boyden, who consolidated it with the Star in June of the same year, since when it has been conducted under the name of The Cincinnati Times-Star. It is published daily except Sunday at its office on Walnut and Sixth streets. It is a member of the Associated Press, its price is 2 cents per copy or 10 cents per week, delivered to regular subscribers, and, in 1919, is in its eighty-first volume.

            Another large afternoon daily newspaper is the Cincinnati Post. This paper is the youngest one of the four large city dailies, having been founded January 4, 1893. It is published daily, including Sunday, by the Post Publishing company at their offices at 221-225 Post square. The rates of its subscriptions are 2 cents per copy, 10 cents per week, if delivered by carriers throughout the city and the suburbs, and the rate by mail outside the city is $4 per year. It is a member of the Scripps-McRae League of Newspapers and has the exclusive service of the United Press and Newspaper Enterprise association. It is now in its eighty-fourth volume. Since the early part of the last century there have been constantly published in Cincinnati a varying number of religious journals. The first of this class of papers to make its appearance was (page 617) The Baptist Weekly journal of the Mississippi Valley, which was founded July 22, 1831, with Rev. John Stevens as the editor. For seven years this paper was regularly published in Cincinnati, and then it was moved to Columbus. In 1834, this paper was consolidated with a Baptist paper published in Kentucky, The Cross, the name of the paper being changed to The Cross and Baptist Journal of the Mississippi Valley, though after the removal of it to Columbus the name was shortened to Cross and Journal. In 1850, it was brought back to this city, and in the following year was united with an Indiana Baptist paper, the Christian Messenger, which had been published at Madison and Indianapolis. The name of the paper then became journal and Messenger, under which title it is now published at 422 Elm street with a circulation of 7,400. The first Methodist paper to be published in Cincinnati was the Western Christian Advocate, which was started in the spring of 1834 by the Methodist Book concern, which was even at that early date one of the leading book concerns of the city. The first editor of the newspaper was the Rev. T. A. Morris, a very able man, and who later became a bishop. In  1841, the book concern founded two other papers, the Ladies' Repository and a German Methodist paper called the Christliche Apologete.

            Another religious paper of note in the early days was the Western Messenger. This paper was started in June, 1835, by the Western Unitarian association, and had a brilliant though brief existence lasting until 1841. Its first editor was the Rev. Ephraim Peabody, but he was obliged to give up the editorship on account of his poor health. The paper was moved to Louisville for a short time, but soon was brought back to Cincinnati, where it was edited by Rev. William H. Channing and his cousin, Rev. James H. Perkins. It was the leading literary publication in the west throughout the time of its existence, numbering the best talent among its contributors.

            The publication of German newspapers has been carried to a considerable extent in Cincinnati since 1826, because of the large number of German speaking people who have come to the city from the time that it became apparent that this was to become a great manufacturing center. The first such publication was the Die Ohio Chronik, a weekly started in 1826, but surviving for only a short time. The next paper of note to be published in German was the Weltburger, which appeared in 1834 edited by Hartmann. This was at first an anti-Democrat paper, but it was soon bought up by Benjamin Boffinger, by whom the title was altered to Der Deutsche Franklin and the election of Van Buren advocated. However, the Whigs took possession of the paper just before election, and in order that they might not be without a party organ the Democrats founded a paper called the Volksblatt. This paper and the Freie Presse have been the leading German publications until the present time.

            There have also been published here a vast number of miscellaneous journals and periodicals, agricultural, medical, and the like. The medical journals have been the most important and numerous of these. Their publication has been carried on since the early (page 618) thirties to a considerable extent, there having been thirty-one different journals published here before the year 1860.

            There are now, in 1919, according to the American Newspaper Annual and Directory, which is published by N. W. Ayer & Son of Philadelphia, 113 newspapers, journals, periodicals, and trade organs of all kinds published in Cincinnati.

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